Former Jockey Club chief Alan Li dies

Former Hong Kong Jockey Club chairman Alan Li Fook-sum died yesterday in Phuket, Thailand, after suffering what is believed to have been a heart attack. He was 66.

Li was Jockey Club chairman from 1998 until last year and the guiding force of a push to make the Hong Kong International Races to a world-class event.

Jockey Club chief executive Lawrence Wong Chi-kong said last night he was shocked by Li's death.

'This is such a sad loss for racing. Alan Li helped to push the club into the international arena - it was the vision he always had. He loved his racing so much,' Mr Wong said.

'We are all lost for words on a day like this. He was a great enthusiast and administrator in racing, an accomplished accountant and successful businessman with the Kowloon Dairy company.'

An avid lover of all things French, Li spoke the language fluently and kept a house in Normandy. His children are all half French.